Tom Cruise officially signs on to play Jack Reacher in One Shot

It'll shoot before sci-fi Oblivion

It's now official folks: Tom Cruise will star as Jack Reacher in a movie adapted from Lee Child's book series, Deadline has announced.

When the idea was mooted a few weeks back, it was met with ire by many fans of the book series, who couldn't accept the thought of Cruise playing the 6'5" tough guy.

Expect this news to receive something of a backlash, although Child (the pen name of author Jim Grant) commended the casting, saying: "Reacher's size in the books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force, which Cruise portrays in his own way."

Christopher McQuarrie, director of The Way Of The Gun and screenwriter of The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie , will helm this adaptation.

One Shot is one of 15 Jack Reacher novels written by Child, so there's certainly franchise potential here.

It also looks like One Shot will shoot before Cruise goes on to star in Oblivion , a science fiction epic from Joseph TRON: Legacy Kosinski.

While Jack Reacher will be a demanding role for Cruise, it could mark a significant new stage in his career if he pulls it off.

Cruise will next be seen in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol , and he's currently shooting musical Rock Of Ages , so his recent taste in roles has been nothing if not diverse; is a full-blown comeback in the offing?